Prayer Bus Rally Tour 2015
The Prayer Bus Rally Tour 2015 will travel 5,915 miles through 24 states to 43 campuses. Join us on location to pray.
2015 Theme and Verse
The 64th annual National Day of Prayer, May 7, 2015, will have profound significance for our country. It is an unprecedented opportunity to see the Lord’s healing and renewing power made manifest as we call on citizens to humbly come before His throne.
Our theme for 2015 is Lord, Hear Our Cry, emphasizing the need for individuals, corporately and individually, to place their faith in the unfailing character of their Creator, who is sovereign over all governments, authorities, and men. To further highlight our theme, we’ve chosen I Kings 8:28 as our Scripture for this year: “Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.”
For the May 7th observances, Dr. Jack Graham, the 2015 Honorary Chairman, wrote a special prayer to be simultaneously read throughout the nation at noon (EDT). This recitation will create a huge wave of prayer, flowing from one coast to the other, illustrating the unity of God’s people and acknowledging His dominion over the circumstances facing us. Millions of people will gather to pray at thousands of events facilitated by our volunteer coordinators and people just like you! We hope you’ll join with our staff again as we seek to bring more communities than ever before together in prayer. As a way of assisting you, we have assembled a variety of resources that describe how to organize and publicize citywide prayer breakfasts, worship services, and rallies. These materials also present creative ideas geared toward helping individuals and families to establish meaningful devotional times. If you have any questions after reviewing these items, please don’t hesitate to contact our NDP staff at (800) 444-8828. We would count it a privilege to lend a hand in whatever manner we are able.
At this crucial time for our nation, we can do nothing more important than pray. Thank you in advance for making this spiritual discipline a personal priority and for standing with us as we encourage others to incorporate prayer in their lives. The Lord has graciously anointed our efforts, empowering them to touch and change many hearts and lives. We look forward to seeing His hand move across our land in exciting ways each May in response to our petitions! In closing, we ask that you prayerfully consider becoming a volunteer in your church or community to lead a National Day of Prayer gathering. May the Lord’s peace fill your heart as you rest in Him throughout the days ahead.
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2014 - Proclamation
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
One of our Nation's great strengths is the freedom we hold dear, including the freedom to exercise our faiths freely. For many Americans, prayer is an essential act of worship and a daily discipline.
Today and every day, prayers will be said for comfort for those who mourn, healing for those who are sick, protection for those who are in harm's way, and strength for those who lead. Today and every day, forgiveness and reconciliation will be sought through prayer. Across our country, Americans give thanks for our many blessings, including the freedom to pray as our consciences dictate.
As we give thanks for our liberties, we must never forget those around the world, including Americans, who are being held or persecuted because of their convictions. Let us remember all prisoners of conscience today, whatever their faiths or beliefs and wherever they are held. Let us continue to take every action within our power to secure their release. And let us carry forward our Nation's tradition of religious liberty, which protects Americans' rights to pray and to practice our faiths as we see fit.
The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on the President to issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a "National Day of Prayer."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2014, as a National Day of Prayer. I invite the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and I join all people of faith in asking for God's continued guidance, mercy, and protection as we seek a more just world.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
BARACK OBAMA
# # #
Support Our Freedom to Pray
The Topic PUBLIC PRAYER
For many, praying is an instinctive, soul-deep reaction to times of great joy, deep distress, and crushing grief. Prayer can
also guide and focus us in our daily lives, as we seek direction, comfort and blessing for the challenges that lay before us. Indeed for many, prayer permeates all aspects of life.In the midst of the ongoing debate over the proper intersection of “church and state,” our own government leaders invoke the Almighty before launching a day’s legislative work, inaugurating a governor or president, or speaking to families reeling from natural disasters and brutal terrorist attacks.
America’s Founding Fathers recognized how crucial religious liberty is to our culture, and wove religious protections into our laws and government. They also took time to pray together publicly as they set about writing our Constitution.
Our legacy of prayer, and the very legal protections the Founding Fathers secured, is at risk. Town of Greece v. Galloway, an Alliance Defending Freedom case currently pending before the Supreme Court of the United States, asks the key question – will our government retain our Founding Fathers’ respect for public prayer?
The Case Town of Greece v. Galloway
The town council of Greece, New York has long opened its sessions with an invocation. Many volunteers from the community have chosen to pray. The invitation has been opened to everyone.
However Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), claimed a “religious imbalance” and filed a lawsuit against the town in 2008. The AU’s clients took offense at the way people prayed. In an unfortunate opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that, because Greece is made up predominantly of Christians, it may need to censor prayers or import others from outside the community.
AU and its legal allies want to eliminate public prayer or render those prayers meaningless by requiring the government to censor any language that could “offend someone,” including praying in Jesus’s name or to the God of David.
Alliance Defending Freedom together with lead counsel Thomas G. Hungar of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP are representing the Town of Greece in this lawsuit.
What's At Stake
- The continuation of the public prayer tradition that began with our Founding Fathers.
- The freedom of community volunteers to pray according to their faith in a public setting without censorship.
- The preservation of freedom of speech in the face of one "offended" person’s demands for censorship.
- The foundational American principle of freedom of religion.
Click here to make your voice heard
2013 Theme and Verse
The upcoming 62nd annual National Day of Prayer, May 2, 2013, will have profound significance for our country. We have an unprecedented opportunity to see the Lord’s healing and renewing power made manifest as we call on citizens to humbly come before His throne. To echo the words of Mary Ball Washington, mother of our nation’s first president, we believe it is time to “Remember that God is our only sure trust.”
Our theme for 2013 is Pray for America, emphasizing the need for individuals, corporately and individually, to place their faith in the unfailing character of their Creator, who is sovereign over all governments, authorities, and men. To further highlight our theme, we’ve chosen Matthew 12:21 as our Scripture for this year: “In His name the nations will put their hope.”
For the May 2nd observances, Pastor Greg Laurie, the 2013 Honorary Chairman, has written a special prayer to be simultaneously read throughout the nation at noon (EDT). This recitation will create a huge wave of prayer, flowing from one coast to the other, illustrating the unity of God’s people and acknowledging His dominion over the circumstances facing us. Millions of people gathered, last year, to pray at thousands of events facilitated by our volunteer coordinators and people just like you! We hope you’ll join with our staff again this year as we seek to bring more communities than ever before together in prayer. As a way of assisting you, we have assembled a variety of resources that describe how to organize and publicize citywide prayer breakfasts, worship services, and rallies. These materials also present creative ideas geared toward helping individuals and families to establish meaningful devotional times. If you have any questions after reviewing these items, please don’t hesitate to contact our NDP staff at (800) 444-8828. We would count it a privilege to lend a hand in whatever manner we are able.
At this crucial time for our nation, we can do nothing more important than pray. Thank you in advance for making this spiritual discipline a personal priority and for standing with us as we encourage others to incorporate prayer in their lives. The Lord has graciously anointed our efforts, empowering them to touch and change many hearts and lives. We look forward to seeing His hand move across our land in exciting ways this May in response to our petitions! In closing, we ask that you prayerfully consider becoming a volunteer in your church or community to lead a National Day of Prayer gathering. May the Lord’s peace fill your heart as you rest in Him throughout the days ahead.
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